Wonderful Weekend…

This weekend couldn’t have been better unless it had been longer.  David took off work early on Friday afternoon and as soon as we managed to get animals taken care of and our bags packed, we headed up to Oklahoma City for the weekend I’ve been looking forward to for about two months.  David had made the reservations not long after his birthday weekend.  We had both enjoyed it so much that we’ve decided this is how we will celebrate our birthdays from now on. Well, except for my 50th for which I’m lobbying for a trip to Paris.

We decided to stop in Norman for an early dinner on the way up.  We ate at B.J.’s which we always enjoy.  Our tummies full, we completed the drive to the city and checked into the Skirvin Hotel.  We just love that place.  We had hoped they would upgrade us to a suite as they had done on David’s birthday but the hotel was pretty full so we just got the regular room with king size bed.  That’s okay, though — it was still very nice. 

After an evening nap, we went downstairs to the Red Piano Bar.  As we walked in, Chris the bartender spotted us and, remembering a favorite of David’s, held up a bottle of Coole Swan.  We haven’t been there since June but he not only remembered something David likes to drink but called him by name, too.  Gotta love a place where the staff makes you feel so welcome.  Chris makes a perfect cosmo, too:

 

From Tea With Dee

We sat near some guys from Tinker Air Force base.  David chatted with one of the guys for quite awhile.  He told us a great story about how the air space over New Orleans, which was previously known as “Eagle Gulf”, was changed to “Who Dat” after the Saints won the Super Bowl.     We’d been there perhaps an hour when very dear friends from Ada, who had been sitting over in the corner recognized David’s ponytail from behind (I was out of their view).  We’ve been friends with Doug and Susan for years and also attend church with them.  We used to go out to dinner about once a month but the past several months have been so busy that we haven’t done so.  Turns out they were in OKC for a wedding the next night.  They joined us for the rest of the evening and we had such a great time.  We’ve been saying for a long time that the four of us needed to take a trip to the Skirvin together but just hadn’t gotten around to it so this was perfect.  We also knew the young man who was getting married, as well as several members of the wedding party, including Doug and Susan’s son.  We also got to see all of them which was fun.     We had hoped to sleep in Saturday morning since we’d been up until around 2 a.m. but David’s phone rang at 7.  It was work-related and he spent the next few hours dealing with a couple of issues.  He took his phone and laptop into the bathroom so I could sleep.  I did manage to doze off and on.  In between calls we did get to lie in bed and watch a couple of episodes of a show where people buy and “flip” houses.  We decided that if the people we saw, who were pretty much idiots, could make the sort of money they did, we could do really well.  We’ve often talked about how we would like to live in New Orleans and “flip” houses there.     Around 1:30 or so, we got ready and went to Sage for lunch.  This place is wonderful.  They serve fresh food, some of it organic and some locally grown.  David had the sweet potato waffles and I had the three cheese macaroni and cheese.   

 

From Tea With Dee

Afterwards we drove around the historic neighborhoods for awhile.  We both enjoy looking at older homes.  There were several For Sale signs so David looked up one of the real estate companies on his iPhone and discovered that the house was selling for over a million dollars.  I didn’t get a picture of that one but here’s another in that neighborhood:

 

From Tea With Dee

We went back to the hotel and decided to get a drink before taking a nap.  Chris the bartender was on duty again and since it wasn’t as busy as it is at night, we had a nice chat with him.  There was a man sitting near us at the bar and when he heard us mention something about Ada, he asked if that was where we lived.  Turns out he and his wife, who joined him a bit later, are also from Ada and were in town for the same wedding Doug and Susan were there for.  When his wife came in, he introduced her and she and I both know we’ve met somewhere but neither of  us can remember how or where.  It will probably come to me at some point.  We all visited awhile and then we went back to our room to rest up before the evening. 

Around 8 p.m. we decided we were ready for dinner.  There’s a limo that serves the Skirvin which we’ve taken once or twice before.  For some reason, Mike, the limo driver, always remembers us.  Instead of getting our car out of valet parking, we had Mike take us to Abuelo’s, a nice Mexican restaurant.  It’s rather fun to ride in a limo:

   

From Tea With Dee

  We chose to eat at Abuelo’s because it’s generally easy to get something vegetarian at a Mexican restaurant.  David had cheese enchiladas and I had one cheese and one spinach enchilada.  The food was good and the service was excellent.    

 

From Tea With Dee

David had asked Mike for his card and put his phone number in his phone so after we ate he called for the limo to take us back to the hotel.  We went to the bar and it wasn’t long before Doug and Susan joined us.  The wedding was over and they decided they’d been at the reception long enough.  The couple we’d met that afternoon soon joined us as well.  We had a drink and then decided to go to the Skky Bar in Bricktown.  That’s where Doug and Susan’s son and most of the rest of the wedding party were going and they’d suggested we all go for awhile.  We’d never been before but are always up for something new.  David called Mike the limo driver again and he took us over there. 

The Skky Bar is nothing like the Red Piano Bar.   At the Red Piano, things are generally fairly sedate.  There’s a mix of ages and someone playing jazz or show tunes on the piano.  The Skky Bar features strobe lights and dance music.  Not to mention that virtually everyone in there was less than thirty.  Except us.  Susan leaned over to me at one point and said she felt like Grandma Moses.  We didn’t stay all that long before deciding that the Skirvin is more our scene.  Once again, David called for the limo and we headed back to *our* bar.  We spent the rest of the night enjoying conversation with good friends until the bar closed at 2 a.m. 

   

A scene from The Red Piano:

 

From Tea With Dee

I don’t know why but I was awake by 8:30 Sunday morning, even though there was absolutely no reason I had to be.  We laid around, watched television and enjoyed our room service continental breakfast.  We had requested a late checkout so we didn’t have to leave until 1 p.m. 

After we left, we went to a Border’s bookstore because I had a 33% off coupon.  I bought a book and a magazine.  We then ate lunch at Macaroni Grill:

   

 

From Tea With Dee

We had eaten fairly lightly so we decided to have dessert, something we don’t do very often.  It was a scoop of vanilla Italian gelato with a shot of Frangelica and one of espresso poured over the top.  Oh, wow!  Was it ever delicious:   

 

From Tea With Dee

 

I also had a $10 off card from Victoria’s Secret so we stopped at the mall in Norman so I could use it.  After one last stop to pick up a couple of things at Pets Mart, we headed for home.     It was a perfect weekend and a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday.  Thank you, David, for making me feel so loved and cherished.   Note: I decided to wait until tomorrow for my annual post-Katrina blog post.